Threat of punishment ruins Palace’s big day
Kirsty Howat’s 60-second cameo deep into injury time could ruin what was a memorable day for Crystal Palace on their return to the top flight. An impressive 1-0 victory against Everton was celebrated emphatically by Jo Potter and her players but that joy would have been replaced by concern and frustration not long after. On Sunday evening WSL Football revealed that there had been a breach of the rules – the Eagles used four substitute windows rather than the regulated three – which had not been picked up by either the coaching staff or the match officials. An investigation has now been launched with punishment to be decided (there is a potential for the result to be overturned). The needless error has put a dampener on what should have been a positive afternoon thanks to the England Under-23 forward Lexi Lloyd-Smith’s winner on her WSL debut. Sophie Downey
